canon rumors FORUM

Interesting. Leica and Canon can certainly " get along" as you put it, since they aren't really competitors. Maybe a very few people will be choosing between an M9 and a 1 series. I'd get a 5D2 or 1D4 and some great glass for the same dollars.

â€œ...if someone doesnâ€™t think this is the best camera in the world, they donâ€™t deserve to own one.â€

I know this is not your opinion, CR Guy, but for me it crystallizes what I find annoying and pretentious about some Leica shooters I've read online and in magazines. It's also flat out wrong.

What I take from this review is an increasing desire for a digital Canonet, with a 1.3 crop (at the least) sensor. Not holding my breath, though.

"It does, but this camera isnâ€™t about specs. Itâ€™s about user experience in making a photograph."

"User experience". I think I've heard that used many times before for another product... If I got a penny everytime I heard that used for that fruity product I'd have enough dough to buy a 1DsIII.

Quote

"If someone doesnâ€™t think this is the best camera in the world, they donâ€™t deserve to own oneâ€.

And there it is again, if I got a penny everytime I heard that uttered by elitist equipment collectors, be it for cars, gadgets or some other mass-produced consumer product, I'd have enough dough to buy a Veyron...

Wolfdiary

Great article, I was just researching the possibility of getting a leica as a street camera. I found the review much more real world rather than just a spec fest and pointless comparisons. Ideally I would run around town with a 5dmk2 and the 70-200is 2.8, but have the leica around my neck for close shots. For now the canon s95 will have to do, but it's actually a great little camera. I met Douglas Kirkland 2 weeks ago and he always carries the s90 in his pocket... Frequently taking it out for the shot.

Overall I'm sick of technical comparisons. I completely understand having a camera that makes you want to take photos, and one that isn't as intrusive as a Dslr. If the battery life was better I'd say this would perfectly suit me, but until then I'm taking my 7D and 30mm 1.4 as my photo journal camera.

"It does, but this camera isnâ€™t about specs. Itâ€™s about user experience in making a photograph."

"User experience". I think I've heard that used many times before for another product... If I got a penny everytime I heard that used for that fruity product I'd have enough dough to buy a 1DsIII.

Quote

"If someone doesnâ€™t think this is the best camera in the world, they donâ€™t deserve to own oneâ€.

And there it is again, if I got a penny everytime I heard that uttered by elitist equipment collectors, be it for cars, gadgets or some other mass-produced consumer product, I'd have enough dough to buy a Veyron...

Hey, I updated your points a bit. "User experience" is a stupid catchphrase. So it's gone.

I also removed the quote, I think it went against the context of what I was trying to say without sounding like an elitest. I'm not, I just like the camera.

What it boils down to is a DSLR is big, heavy and conspicuous and this puts it at a distinct disadvantage for street and travel photography. M9 fills that niche admirably, albeit with quite a few compromises - manual focus being one of them.

Outside of those uses, I personally cannot see much point to getting the M9. I'm sure that if Canon built a reasonably-priced EVIL, that would take a lot of wind out of the M9's expensive sails. I would get one just for street/travel photography, and use my DSLR for everything else.

The other benefit of the M9 is the corner-to-corner sharpness of the wide-angles on offer. Again this is something that Canon can and probably will address at some stage, although it can be mitigated somewhat by stopping down to f/8, if shallow DoF and fast shutter are less of a concern. Perhaps the patented 14-24mm will rectify this issue.

Enjoy the M9, and hope its resale value holds after Canon release a high-quality EVIL that blows the M9 away

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canon rumors FORUM

mgrayson

You don't by any chance wear glasses, do you? I have an Epson RD-1 and just can't jam my eye close enough to the viewfinder. Diopter correction means taking my glasses off ever time I bring the camera to my face. It's hard to get unbiased advice on this point, as no Leica forum member would ever admit that the viewfinder is suboptimal in any way.

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richy

I think I get what you mean about user experience.I feel the same way about medium format. Some of it is definitely just in my head, but some of it is real. Some cameras work in a different way forcing you to work in a different way, sometimes that way is better for some things. I spent a couple of years taking terrible landscape stuff, then I got a MF 6x7 and a big part of it was probably just being able to compose the shot on the ground glass and being forced to do it slowly and think about it. Others have possibly rightly said the same could be done via live view.There is a dealer in the UK who does a lot of leica stuff and their slogan is something terribly poncy and elitist. There is a set of leica owners as you mention for whom it is about making up for their having very small willies, but that doesn;t detract that leica makes some very capable cameras. They are definitely more suited to street work than say sports, but I would argue theyre more suited to street work than dslr's.I have to admit when I looked at a rangefinder it was at bessa's not leicas

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kevbo

Wonderful article - was pleasantly surprised this morning to see it show up in my RSS. I'm a 5D2 shooter who just recently decided to jump the shark and try out an m9 because of its size and maintained image quality. If the shooting experience turns out to be that much better, then that's even greater. Found a new 50 Summilux, which I now have after selling one kidney (almost serious) but awaiting an m9.

Had known there were problems with circ polarizers. Can you describe the device you mention in your article a little more? What's it called?

Thanks for a very well-written article. It mirrors much of my thoughts and I can't wait to try.K

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olav

I know it sounds worn out but user experience is what you need when using a very different "tool".I know from my own experience with different stuff that it takes some time to get the best results but generally its worth trying. Of course, with the M9 price just trying is not possible for many of us so you might consider buying a used M4-M7 to see if you "can handle life without AF". Have fun with it!

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Maldical

Nice review. I carry around an Olympus E-P2 for casual shooting instead of my 7D for similar reasons. I mount a manual focus/aperture lens on it as well. It really makes it feel like it's your own image. It would be a Leica but can't justify the cost to my better half.

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scalesusa

The Leica brings back memories of my first real camera, a Argus C-3 rangefinder bought new back in the early 1960's at Talls Camera in Burien (Seattle). I used it with a external light meter. I generally used Kodachrome slide film rather than print film. I used the C3 all thru the time I was in college, and for a couple of years afterword. My first 35mm SLR was a Canon FTQL in about 1969, and built a darkroom in the garage of my first house in 1967. I mostly developed B&W film, when I tried developing ektrachrome slide film, I often got a slight blue-green tinge. I also dabbled with color printing, but after the first child came along, we moved to a larger house, and I had other priorities and no longer had a darkroom.

There is little question in my mind that a range finder camera is a unique experience, and produces excellent sharp images with little effort. You do not have that big mirror banging up and down, not the large focal plane shutter, just a tiny click from the diaphram shutter built in to the body, and then the huge pop and flash from those press 25 bulbs.

Of course, you also did not get the advantage of thru the lens viewing, or the built-in light meter. You were able to exchange lenses, but it was never something I was interested in trying.